SPAC 2012

SPAC and State Parks leaders, police and the Saratoga County district held a press event Thursday in which they spoke about the upcoming music season, which starts Friday (tonight).

Below is a summary of the event. Also, I asked SPAC Executive Director Marcia White and Live Nation manager John Huff if the venue might consider hosting rave/dance parties that have become popular at the Albany Armory on Washington Avenue. Huff said those type of events represent a “bright spot” for the industry, but he said they would be tricky to pull off in an amphitheater-type setting. White said all programs “must fit” with SPAC’s ideals and setting. Here’s Friday’s print story, feel free to chime in about crowds, alcohol, SPAC policies, whatever:

Concert promoters and law enforcement are gearing up for what they predict will be a busy summer at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

This year’s expanded concert roster opens Friday with a near-sellout show from the Zac Brown Band. The 2012 concert lineup follows with a Dave Matthews Band double bill next Friday and Saturday, and includes three consecutive weekend nights of Phish on July 6-8. The latter two bands, which usually draw sell-out audiences at SPAC, did not perform at the facility last year.

Also coming this summer are Drake, Demi Lovato, the Beach Boys, Brad Paisley, Nickelback and others. That’s fueling high hopes for attendance, and concern about crowds. “We’re just very optimistic it is going to be a record number,” SPAC Executive Director Marcia White said Thursday outside the Route 50 entrance to SPAC. She spoke at what has become an annual event ahead of the SPAC season in which police and prosecutors warn music fans against bringing alcohol to SPAC parking lots and Saratoga Spa State Park.

They started to more strictly enforce the “zero tolerance policy” a few years ago. This year, police will target alcohol possession, excessive drinking, drunk driving and disorderly conduct, New York State Parks Police Chief Richard O’Donnell said.

“There’s a dramatic increase in the number of shows,” O’Donnell said in an interview Thursday at SPAC. Officers will rotate from other parks to help at SPAC during busy nights, he said.

The 46-year-old venue capped attendance at shows to 25,000 in 2000, when Live Nation assumed management of its rock concerts.

Last year, SPAC attracted about 300,000 people to its classical performances and 17 Live Nations shows. The concert giant has scheduled 23 performances this year, which should produce a “significant increase” in ticket sales, company manager John Huff said. He said Live Nation was rolling out a new ticket pricing model based on demand, but wouldn’t offer specifics.

This year’s average ticket cost for the New York City Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra is $35, White said. The New York City Ballet’s rising costs may force a reduction in its SPAC residency to one week from two weeks as soon as next year, White has said.

Beating an all-time attendance record may be difficult.

SPAC’s peak year came in 1983 — when 537,800 people came to the amphitheater, 383,625 of them at 43 pop music shows that featured the Grateful Dead, Peter Gabriel and the B-52s. Officials hope curiosity also inspires visits. The amphitheater underwent a makeover during the winter and now boasts a contemporary facade funded through Bill and Susan Dake.

“It’s quite spectacular,” Rose Harvey, State Parks commissioner, said during a visit Thursday.